Mercedes ‘cannot take anything for granted’ – Wolff

Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff warns against any complacency from his different teams, saying the German constructor ‘cannot take it for granted’ that it will be able to repeat last year’s achievements easily.

Mercedes enjoyed a superb 2015 campaign across many motor racing series, not only stamping its authority on both Formula One world championships but also starring in DTM with new Manor recruit Pascal Wehrlein.

What’s more, fellow junior Esteban Ocon dominated the GP3 Series on debut, while Mercedes-powered Felix Rosenqvist won the FIA European Formula 3 title.

Despite Mercedes being already tipped as the heavy favourite to retain its F1 crowns following a strong showing in pre-season testing, Wolff refuses to get carried away.

“It’s very important to manage all the expectations because we had a really great season in many different categories last year but it is the past,” he said at the manufacturer’s 2016 kick off ceremony in Stuttgart.

“All points have been reset to zero so we must re-start the challenge from the beginning. You cannot take for granted that you will win as many categories as last year.

“We need to work very hard for each of them and hopefully we can have another successful year.”

FEATURE: Exclusive Q&A with Honda's Yusuke Hasegawa

INTERVIEW: Max Verstappen: The man in demand

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Julien Billiotte

Recent Posts

Two on the trot for Laffite and Ligier in Brazil

On this day in 1979, Jacques Laffite won the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos as…

29 mins ago

Russell hungry for ‘head-to-head’ title clash with Verstappen

George Russell is not hiding his appetite for a showdown this season in F1. In…

2 hours ago

Vowles confident Williams won’t start F1 season ‘on the back foot’

Williams may have missed the first public glimpse of Formula 1’s bold new era, but…

3 hours ago

Mercedes Allison’s big takeaway from F1’s Barcelona test

Mercedes technical director James Allison arrived in Barcelona last week bracing for chaos – and…

4 hours ago

Verstappen rules out F1 management role after retirement

Max Verstappen has made one thing crystal clear about life after Formula 1: don’t expect…

21 hours ago

Williams unveils bold new 2026 livery for FW48

Williams has officially pulled the wraps off the striking new look of its 2026 Formula…

22 hours ago